The Lost Cause
by Christian Christiansen
Summary: One day I was watching Soul Eater, and thought that it was a great story base, a wonderful concept and meanings, but was missing things. "How did this character set and war between witches and meisters come to be? What ALL happened?" is what came to mind every day. This is a work in progress, so feel free to give me some advice on how I could improve it, and most of all, enjoy


The Lost Cause

Francis woke up on the forest floor in the makeshift shelter he made with a slight knot in his head. He rose from where he was laying and crawled out of his temporary haven and saw it was morning in the Forresting Forest, and was surprised that he was alive and well for another day. Another day in which he had to struggle to survive in a world where either anything goes, or all is controlled by an evil mind. Francis reached in his left pocket and was relieved that he managed to keep his glasses intact despite of the obstacles the boy goes through, which has been on a day to day basis since he escaped three months ago from the ward-like base he was being kept in. Although he tried not to dwell on this fact, but he couldn't help but to think he will eventually be caught by the witches that have been chasing after him. Shaking off the terrible thought, Francis started heading towards the city so he could try to smuggle some food to keep him alive for a bit longer.

As he walked along the rugged trail back to civilization, he hears leaves crunching near his feet. Barely being able to breathe because of the fear swelling within him, Francis stiffly, slowly swings his head downward to find a church mouse nibbling at his pant leg, as if his britches were made of cheese. A sigh of relief comes from Francis and he picks up the mouse gently and holds the rodent closer to his face. "Hello Mister Mouse," whispers Francis as he runs a finger slowly across the mouse's back. "I am sorry for what I must do, I cannot risk the witches spotting where I come and go." With a swift motion, he snaps the mouse in half with his two fingers and drops the corpse on the ground. Seconds after, a smog-like silhouette emerges from the mouse body that rises right above the dead mouse that it once was carried in. Francis picked up the orange glowing smog-sphere and quickly shoves it in a jar of what seems like other smog-spheres as well, only of different colors. He likes to keep these smaller, weaker souls in case he decides he has to fend for himself in all the wrong ways, if he needed a bit more madness than he already had. After collecting what he needed, he continued on his way to see what was going on in the town that is called Jinsei no Machi, or the Town of Life.

Francis eventually comes up to the entrance of Jinsei no Machi, finding the big arch that loomed over the gray stone walkway, leading into the depths of the town. The streets were being lit softly with the morning sun just over a massive school where the town rested, while the civilians walked on the sidewalks next to the buildings and shops. A Saturday morning in what seemed to be a normal day, people were pulling their mobile shops to the town square to sell knick knacks and food items to the commoners and the children were heading north to the enormous school that was named Shinbusen. The town that seemed small was actually packed with many sorts of beings, including the beings that were not allowed in because of the certain abilities they possessed. All together, it was more or less a peaceful place to live if you weren't a fugitive or deity of power. Francis enjoyed coming to this town to feel like he is still part of the civilization, to feel like he wasn't ever separated from the lifestyle he was used to before the struggle of living on his own.

As Francis walked down the well kept streets, a certain poster caught his attention. He stops, and backs up to see that it was newly added bounty for a younger looking woman with piercing yellow eyes and short jet black hair. The woman seemed to be laughing when the officials took the shot of her, and it looked like the last thing she was worried about was her getting caught. The bounty was not stated under the picture, all it stated was 'BRING HER BACK DEAD' with red marker. Right next to that bounty was another that seemed familiar to him. It was a boy, with fairly long dark gray hair and green eyes. The long sleeved shirt he wore looked like the seams were stitched poorly by hand, with old, withered buttons. He looked like he hasn't had a bath in days because soot was cloaking his face. The bounty for the boy was one million bits, a very big reward for a poor child. Francis stared at it a bit longer, realizing that the poorly tended to boy was him.

_Wow, they have not forgotten about me yet,_ he thought to himself. _Perhaps I really do have something they need… _ Realizing that just spent ten minutes staring at posters, he slowly kept walking down the brick paved sidewalk. He was approaching his favorite shop, which was full of interesting items to look at. He always had a particular interest in things that did not work, things that have been broken for who knows how many years. He always wanted to turn old things into new contraptions then look for a use for them. He would mainly go into this shop to find certain parts to make new things. Once he became an outlaw, all his visits to the store came to an abrupt end. Francis pushed his face up to the shiny glass and stared into the old and withered shop, wondering if they were still in business.

The linings of the window pane were covered in old mirrors and porcelain sculptures of the legends often told in the city. One sculpture had a person covered in golden lined white cloaks, with a helmet like mask that matches, holding a ball of energy in his left hand, about to beam it into someone's general direction. Another right next to it, there was another sculpture of a man with a rather big scythe, and in the other hand it seemed like electricity coming from the man's palm. Right next to that one, another sculpture of a woman with a withered and old top hat, covered in soot and looked dressed to a special occasion but was interrupted by war. These, were the people that were supposedly in the city or near it as people spoke, but have not shown themselves yet. If they were to show themselves, they would have to be executed on the spot because of the possible threat they could change the way of living forever. People wanted change, but the leader of Jinsei no Machi wanted nothing to do with change. Change was trying to be avoided all throughout this town, with almost everything. The leader of the city, Lord Death they call him, was very particular about never changing anything. Because of this, everyday things became very uninteresting and colorless. Francis wishes that change will come soon to this town, or change would come to their leader.

"Hey kid," said a voice behind him.

Francis froze, not knowing whether to start running or reply. He waits for the the voice to leave him alone, but it keeps talking to him.

"Hey kid, can you hear me?"

He turns around slowly to see a taller boy with long, crimson red hair and light blue eyes. He had a black long sleeved shirt and black slacks that seemed to be a uniform on that belong to a school organization and was carrying multiple school books. The look on his face told Francis that the boy thought big of himself, with his posture as well.

"You're my age, shouldn't you be going to school? If you are, you aren't dressed like it…."

"... Yeah," Francis says with a stunned tone, "I should be heading towards the school. Unfortunately, I am new and cannot find my way around these streets."

"Well, you could follow me," said the red headed boy, "I'm going that way anyways. Do you know which class you are in?"

"I do not know…." mumbled Francis as he stared at the particles of dust on the ground. His lies were about to corner him into getting caught and being sent back to that god awful place where lab runners would conduct tests on him. He had to think of something quick, before the child caught on that he didn't belong.

"That's okay," the boy said with a faint smile, "I'm sure I can help you figure all that stuff out too. Let's just get to the school before we're late."

They both started walking towards the towering school along the brick paved sidewalks. Along the other side of the street, Francis could see other children walking the same way, in the same uniform that Spirit had on. As they walked, Francis started to get more acquainted with the boy he decided to follow to the school he goes to instead of eventually wandering off somewhere on "accident."

"Thank you..." Francis spoke weary. "I have never been to school before."

"You have to be kidding me! You're telling me that you have never been to school whatsoever?"

"Yes... I was homeschooled. My parents do not want me stuck in classrooms."

"That's really weird... I thought it was illegal here."

"It is."

"But your parents are homeschooling you anyways? That's very risky of them, going against rules and all."

"Indeed it is."

"How old are you? Did you come from somewhere else?"

"I am twelve, and I have lived nearly everywhere. Right now, I live in Forresting Forest."

"Why are you living in the forest?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?"

The boy stayed silent for a short while, coming to a conclusion that Francis was touchy on a few subjects. Although he thought this, he continued to ask questions.

"... What's your name?"

"My name is Francis. What is yours?"

"I'm Spirit. I'm a Weapon."

"... Come again?"

"Don't tell me you don't know what Weapons and Meisters are either. You really must be new to this town."

"I know, I told you that."

"Fair enough. Depending on how strong your soul is, we might be in the same class together."

A large woman with silver hoop earrings and flamboyant colored scarves was standing next to her open door in her shop, handing out free candies. As Francis walks past and sees them, he stops in front of her and stares at the little chocolates on a silver platter.

"Why, hello there!" she exclaimed. "Would you like a taste of my chocolate?"

Francis takes the entire tray and dumps the homemade candy samples into Spirit's pockets.

"I will need these for food later." replied Francis with an oblivious tone. The woman stares at him for a second, as if she was holding back how flustered she was because her homemade candies were shoved into the pockets of a small boys' pants, and says "Go ahead honey, a boy's got to eat after all." in a forced-upon happy voice.

"Thank you ma'am. Let us go Spirit, before we are late." Francis starts walking down the sidewalk. Spirit follows behind, apologizing to the big woman about her candies.

Spirit looks at Francis with candy filled pockets with a shocked look and says "Why did you do that?! You know that they have lunch at school right?"

"Yes," said Francis with complete assurance, "I just have a big sweet tooth." He takes the half-warmed pieces of chocolate out of Spirit's pocket, and puts them in his mouth. "Mmm, caramel. I have always loved caramel with my chocolate."

"You're weird, kid." Spirit says to Francis in a disappointed voice. "Let's just get to school already."

After winding through the city's maze-like structure, the two boys arrived at the massive, towering school. Shinbusen, a school for all ages, was made especially for Jinsei no Machi and the only one of its kind. Not knowing what the school taught, Francis still had the feeling of authority reigning over on him. The exterior was nothing he has ever seen on a building before, for it has very odd decorations on the outside. The building has two enormous candles on each side, both of them with a flame on the wick. On the center, there was the symbol that Spirit had on his shirt, only it was huge upon the outside portion of the building. There were spikes near the windows that lined the circumference of the building, for an unfamiliar reason. Children were walking into the big doorway into the school, heading towards their beginning classes.

While walking into the big hallways of the school, Francis is overwhelmed with an uneasy feeling. People were all over the place, heading for their homerooms and getting their books from the vast library. As far as his eyes could see, Francis noticed the pale walls were lined with trophy cases, and various students who were remarkable at schoolwork. For some particular reason he did not know of, all the children in the pictures were holding weapons. Another odd thing he notices about the photographs is that under them, it had two names instead of one. _What kind of school allows weapons in everyday class? And why do the plaques have two names with only one person? _he wondered to himself as he walked down the narrow hallway with Spirit next to him. Francis could not believe he got this far, he would have thought someone would notice him by now. It seemed to him that instead of them noticing, all the students around him went out of their way not to cross paths with him. When he approached the people in front of him, they all looked away or pretended to do something else with the person next to them. "This is a very odd school…." said Francis to Spirit.

"How can you say that?" Spirit replied, "You've never been to a school before. But I can understand why this would feel weird to you. Just follow me, I'll take you to Lord Death and he will know where to place you."

Francis felt his entire body shiver with fear, realizing he was about to be found out. Thinking quickly Francis says to Spirit "Lord Death is most likely busy. How about we ask that teacher over there?"

They both look over next to the bathrooms and see a middle-aged man with a grimacing look on his face. He wore a pin of the symbol of this school, that was made out of what seemed to be solid gold.

"Oh god… Not him. We could talk to someone else." Spirit said fearfully.

"Why do you want to talk to someone else?" Francis asks curiously.

Spirit looks around cautiously, leans into Francis and whispers, "Mr. Roy has it out for me, he always on my ba-"

"Excuse me Albarn, is there something I could help you boys with?"


End file.
